Oscar Flash!!!!

Focus Features is not… I repeat, NOT press screening The Seed Of Chucky!

Jennifer Tilly’s Oscar potential has been dealt a serious blow.

Developing…

More On The Lansing/Ransohoff Suit

In an MCN headline, the focus on Martin Ransohoff’s suit against Sherry Lansing and Paramount for an alleged oral agreement to make a movie and then reneging was on Ransohoff being, essentially, out of the business for the last seven years.  A bit simplistic…

Because almost everything about Ransohoff’s lawsuit seems to be iffy…

Oral contracts in Hollywood are worth the paper they are written on.   

This is a bit of an overstatement, but it is also true.  Lots of what happens happens before the signature line is filled.  There are pre-production landmarks that legitimize the binding nature of oral contracts in Hollywood. But there is no sign of that here. 

It sounds like Sherry said in a meeting, “Get Morgan Freeman to do it, sweetie, and you have a green light.”  Ransohoff got, I guess, Freeman, but it sounds like by the time he did, Paramount was out of the expensive-thriller-with-Morgan-Freeman business and there were no green lights. 

This is the nature of the business.  Every time there is a turnover in the top exec ranks at a studio, all the “verbal contracts” go out the window, as do many written contracts, which are bought out of or shelved. Even completed or in production films have major changes in the expectations surrounding them. 

Sony always comes to mind in this regard.  When David Putnam was run out of town on a rail, Dawn Steel was so anxious to bury his corpse that when exhibitors wanted more prints of Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen for the holiday season, she wouldn’t make the prints.  The flip side is John Calley’s embrace of Peter Guber’s slate of films, including Godzilla and My Best Friend’s Wedding, which the studio rode the coattails of for a while.

Ransohoff, who had an amazing 30 year career, but is now more than 40 years in, had no place else to make his deal… or he’d be making a movie and not suing anyone.  And at 77 and mostly out of the game, he had nothing to lose. 

I have no way of knowing whether he wanted a little something for his troubles from Paramount and is pissed that he didn’t get it, even after leveraging a lawsuit or if there is something personal between he and Ms. Lansing.  But at this point, it sure looks like he is trying to hurt Ms. Lansing directly and using the already much speculated about tendency for her company to make movies with her husband as a cudgel. 

In any case, it may make it through the first rounds of litigation, but it is a silly lawsuit.  It is possible that Ms. Lansing somehow brought it on herself… that may turn out to be part of things as it unfolds.  But even if she did, this is the kind of lawsuit you never see filed in the business unless someone is truly desperate, insane or an outsider.  Which best describes Mr. Ransohoff, we will find out in time.

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Weekend Box Office

The first two Harry Potter movies, Toy Story 2, LOTR: Return of the King and The Passion of The Christ. 

xxx

Those are the only five movies that have had better Fridays outside of the summer than The Incredibles did yesterday.  (For the record, there are 15 summer films that opened Friday better.)  The Friday number is better than Finding Nemo’s and I suspect that The Incredibles will be challenging that same film for 14^th spot on the Best Ever Openings list, the fifth best start out of summer ever and a possibility to pass LOTR: Return of the King, which did $72.6 million.

(Sidebar: The best First Friday/Second Friday combo ever was Spider-Man with $39.4 million the first Friday and $19.9 million on the second. Second best, with the highest second Friday gross of all time is Shrek 2, with $28.3 million the first Friday and $20 million the second. LOTR: Return of the King is in third, with $21.8 million to start and $19.2 million following.)

The Grudge, Ray and Saw were all within shooting distance of one another again this Friday, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ray pulls ahead on Saturday night, as the horror cycle slows and The Incredibles eats all the box office that isn’t older couples… where Ray reigns.

Even if the 40% drop holds for Ray over the weekend, it would end its second week with over $37 million in the bank and even of that rate of descent continued, you’re still looking at $65 million for this black musical biopic… plenty enough of a win to keep Best Picture Oscar hopes alive.

Not alive, except for a near lock Best Original Song slot, is Alfie, which looks to disappoint even by the standard of low projections of $7 million.

Tara Reid

I just saw a "nip slip" of Tara Reid’s at a New York event last night and it hit me hard… when are people going to stop laughing at this girl and really start worrying that she is heading down Belushi/Farley road?

I won’t link to the pictures, but they can be found and almost every Gawker site.  Tara’s travails, before and after the implants, are a pet project for Gawker Media.  But there is something about these photos… like she might have been so out of it as she posed for cameras that she might not know she was going half topless.

Even sadder is the notion that she knew.

A roll of photos is misleading.  She may have had a shoulder strap fall for 2 seconds and 10 photos could have been snapped in that time.  But still… burnout is only amusing until it is not.  And I have crossed that line on this lost girl of Hollywood.

First Awards Stuff

Academy members started getting stuff last week. Today was my first haul…

Soundtrack of The Incredibles
Soundtrack of Beyond The Sea
DVD of Broadway: The Golden Years

I Have To Say…

I realy liked the Episode Three trailer…

Alec Guiness, Darth Maul eyes, lava, Frankenstein beats, wookies, Hellraiser’s cousin, light saber fights, Liam Neeson, and a sense of finality… finally!!!

Somehow it looks more Star Wars than the last two films… probably the emphasis of character over big toys.

Cool.

Now if only I didn’t have to watch freakn’ TRL to see it!

Michael Moore Responds…

As seems to be his habit, win or lose, he repeats himself. This image has been on his site for weeks… and now, it has replaced the front page of his website, leaving his many loyal followers to, uh, fend for themselves. It’s his ball… you failed him… now you have to look at this!

Perhaps it is better that Mike takes seven minutes… seven hours… seven days… and composes himself before he speaks out again.

But for now, he is offering the same degree of insight and perspective as usual… he hate Bush… Bush is murderer… history no written by the victor this time!!!!

On a lighter note, this bit of mockery came to me through another democratic country of note… every bit as pointed, but not nearly as petulant…

I Don't Know…

…whether I am pleased or pissed that Michael Moore has crawled into a hole since 3p pst yesterday.

Maybe he and Ari Emmanuel are huddling, trying to make sure that Ari doesn’t follow in the footsteps of Sue Mengers and Mike Ovitz.

Maybe his is on a bender.

Maybe he is cobbling together the footage, shot at polling places, that will prove that Bush stole 4 million votes this time.

I would like to think that Michael Moore, a brilliant guy in many ways, can find a way to lead the loyal opposition in a way we have yet to consider. And for that reason, I hope to see/read/hear what he has to say… soon.

On the other hand, I hope he didn’t send his tux to the cleaners yet, as Fahrenheit 9/11 is now a historic document, an awards contender only if the IFP decides to fete Moore on the beach in February as the final F-U to the rest of the country.

If A Kerry Vote Is Wrong…

Sometimes, being a know-it-all sucks… especially why you are right.

I don’t think that it’s any surprise that I am not packing to move to Europe because Bush has been re-elected. I don’t expect him to destroy this country. I do think that liberals, like myself, have to be very vigilant about being aware of what is going on Washington on social issues and to be very loud when trouble approaches… not snarky… loud and righteous.

Remember, one of the stories that went little written about in the Ohio Delay was that 11 or 11 states that voted on gay marriage voted against gay marriage. Again, this issue does not rise to a woman’s right to choose for me, but 11 of 11 is kind of scary. A nation that has so devalued marriage is still ready – anxious even – to deny the right to a group of citizens who are so much an accepted part of people’s lives now. How many people who voted against gay marriage are regular viewers of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy or Desperate Housewives? It reminds me so of Do The Right Thing and the conversation between Spike and John Turturro about black sports heroes who were not “niggers” because he had a stake in who they were. We are not as advanced a nation as we like to think. After all, this is not an issue of anything but convention and while I understand the emotional urge to “defend marriage,” I am saddened by the big picture inability to see beyond what makes us uncomfortable and to allow convention to be part of the lives of all of our nation’s citizens.

Kerry’s concession speech is 75 minutes away. Michael Moore has been silent so far, though the last we heard from him was how great things were going in Ohio. Bush will speak out at 1p pst.

The division in the country over George Bush isn’t going to go away, even with a decisive popular vote, including an actual majority, and no one bothering to notice that the Kerry-won Pennsylvania was actually a closer election than Ohio. The question in the weeks to come is not about healing the wounds of a divided nation. That’s a bunch of words.

For me the question I pray will be answered well is whether my people, those who voted for Kerry, can get past the vitriol and looking like poor losers and keep the energy going to try to fulfill the powerful role of the loyal opposition. The Presidency is gone for another four years. What will we do between now and then? How much attention will we pay to the issues we used for leverage in arguments over the last six months? Are we really committed to a different idea of America or are we just a bunch of whining dilettantes, turning up the heat only when our blood sugar is too high?

It is time for all of us to speak about the America we want and not obsess on the America we don’t want. Get the freakin’ message, gang. Clinton was a centrist, Bush is conservative and Arnold Schwarzenegger is a constitutional amendment away from the presidency. We need to stop, breathe, and refocus on the big picture… pick some big issues… start arguing the truth of how liberals see themselves – as messengers of acceptance – instead of trying to fight fire with fire.

I don’t care how many stories come out about how The Bushies used fear and loathing to win the day. There was no loathing out there greater than that which was spewed towards Bush every day of the cycle. Bush won because he and the Republican Party kept it simple, stupid. Too simple for my tastes. But I do understand that it is not anti-intellectual.

It is the same decision a child makes when a stranger approaches. It is simple. And it comes from the gut. If the stranger gets the child’s trust then starts screaming about how dangerous crossing the street is like a maniac, the child will lose that trust, even though what they are hearing is completely accurate and well intended.

And yes, the gut is often horribly wrong. But it is the nature of humanity. Deal with it.

The future of this country is not a debate, won on points, judged by someone. It is a dining room table discussion, won slowly over time by repetition and sincerity and, horror of horror, real emotional commitment.

Remember that moment when you first convinced your parent that you were right about something and that their long held view was no longer the best view? It is a great feeling. Blue states… the red states are your family in America. Stop telling them how ugly you think their house is and sit down to break some bread. You have four more years in which to talk…

And here we are…

Isn’t it the ultimate irony that John Kerry faces a Sherry Lansing decision this morning?

How does one walk away with dignity? It is a hard thing to do…

New Paramount Rumor

An prominent industry player says that Paramount is already in extended discussions with Bill Mechanic to take over the Lansing slot at Paramount… DeLine likely to stay in #2 spot…

What's Next At Paramount?

“Instead of spending $120 million on The Stepford Wives, we could have made three pictures targeted at a younger audience that could be a lot more profitable.”
Tom Freston

If you want to know who will be chief at Paramount next, these words, though just a few of many, should give you a big fat clue. After all, Freston was very conciliatory to Paramount Classics’ Ruth Vitale and David Dinerstein after his off-the-cuff remarks about pushing the Classics division to a higher level, but every indicator is that he is still well into the process of replacing them. (Ironically, they have done a nice job launching The Machinist and Enduring Love, but it is still on an arthouse, profit-but-not-cash-cow level. And more ironically, he is allegedly talking to Bob Berney, whose massive success distributing The Passion of The Christ could have been Paramount’s success had Jon Dolgen been willing to let Vitale and Dinerstein swing for the fences.)

My point is, when he says something, it seems to be something that is seriously percolating in his head.

In other words, it’s a good thing that Donald DeLine has producing projects still in the hopper.

But who will take the lead role at Paramount Pictures?

The obvious answer? Peter Rice.

There is no one out there who has made more from less than Rice in recent years. He has long been thought to be in the grooming spot for big Fox. He has worked on various levels, has been feted by the media for years and this year, has brought three major highly-respected directors to the marketplace for less than $25 million each.

The Weinsteins are never going to be given a machine that big to run wild with by Sumner Redstone and really, it would probably eat them whole. They are brilliant, but there is such a thing as too much.

Bill Mechanic would be a great choice for Paramount, with a real understanding of the entire marketplace for films, not just production and domestic theatrical, but he has been on ice and will probably be seen as too old school for the job.

The bold move would be to steal Scott Stuber and Mary Parent from Universal and to make them co-chiefs, but I’m not really sure that either of them is in such a rush to have the Stacey Snider job. The protected position of being one step below on the food chain is quite glorious… most of the perks and a lot less daily pressure.

Parkes & MacDonald will be sticking by Steven, no matter what happens at DreamWorks.

Joe Roth doesn’t seem to be up for a return to the hottest seat in town.

Chris McGurk, whose name will be thrown into the ring soon by Chris McGurk, would really be suited for the Freston role, not the Lansing role, and I don’t see any chance of Freston bringing a fox into the hen house, even if the fox is really interested in spending more time focused on the creative side. (I still think McGurk would be, in tandem with Dick Cook, a great play for Disney.)

And that is the whole realistic list of name contenders.

Of course, you can add Tom Rothman and/or Jim Gianopulis to the list if Fox decides to keep the Murdoch-friendly Peter Rice in house by giving him their current job(s). And that would not be a huge shock. Like I wrote above, people have been waiting for that show to drop for a long time. The Fox boys had a strong summer… ironically, in the style that Freston spoke of, combined with the high-priced worldwide success of The Day After Tomorrow, in spite of the turdal nature of the film itself.

And finding the right person to take over at Searchlight would be no mean feat, though I suspect that Peter would bring up one of his lieutenants, loyal and talented, with an eye to maintaining the studio troika, the other arms of which are Gilula and Utley, at least for a while. Both would probably move up to big Fox after someone new settled in and Utley was less occupied with some personal matters that would make running marketing at the big studio a punishing choice. (I apologize for even mentioning personal issues, but most of the industry is already aware of them and they are significant in looking the overall chess board. Peter’s faith in and support of Nancy are beyond any doubt and I certainly have great respect for her and wish all good things for her and her family, now and in future.)

If an outsider was brought in, Rice would realistically have to decide to go more arty or commercial with the division. Whoever came in could be talking about the middle, but very few indie minds have been successful doing both… which is why Searchlight is so revered. The two candidates I would see as really interesting would be Valerie Van Galder (who, for disclosure’s sake, is a friend of mine, but it still holds) on the commercial side and Wellspring’s Ryan Werner on the arty side. Or both.

Van Galder’s eye for, passion about and relationship skills with indie directors has been impressive. She would need a strong physical production partner and a flexible marketing head (post-Nancy), willing to let Val lead without getting paranoid, but Val knows how to target an idea and get the idea out there in a focused way. Werner’s taste and relationships, as he builds one of the new generation of true indies has really impressed me. He doesn’t have the production experience on the $10 million & above level that Searchlight is involved with and he might be a little more Lindsay Law than Peter Rice, but it would be a daring choice.

But I’m a few dominos away from this part of the discussion meaning anything…

Back at Paramount, Tom Freston hold the cards. I don’t think that Redstone is going to be in a rush to find a young hotshot to roll the dice with. And I don’t think that it is in his nature to want someone whose strings Freston holds too tightly either. Just look at how Sumner played Dolgen and is still playing Freston and Moonves. He likes vigorous competition.

Peter Rice. He’s the one that makes sense.

Tom Wolfe Hits It Right On The Head

“Here is an example of the situation in America,” he says: “Tina Brown wrote in her column that she was at a dinner where a group of media heavyweights were discussing, during dessert, what they could do to stop Bush. Then a waiter announces that he is from the suburbs, and will vote for Bush. And … Tina’s reaction is: ‘How can we persuade these people not to vote for Bush?’ I draw the opposite lesson: that Tina and her circle in the media do not have a clue about the rest of the United States. You are considered twisted and retarded if you support Bush in this election. I have never come across a candidate who is so reviled. Reagan was sniggered it, but this is personal, real hatred.

“Indeed, I was at a similar dinner, listening to the same conversation, and said: ‘If all else fails, you can vote for Bush.’ People looked at me as if I had just said: ‘Oh, I forgot to tell you, I am a child molester.’ I would vote for Bush if for no other reason than to be at the airport waving off all the people who say they are going to London if he wins again. Someone has got to stay behind.”

Where does it come from, this endorsement of the most conservative administration within living memory? Of this president who champions the right and the rich, who has taken America into the mire of war, and seeks re-election tomorrow? Wolfe’s eyes resume the expression of detached Southern elegance.

“I think support for Bush is about not wanting to be led by East-coast pretensions. It is about not wanting to be led by people who are forever trying to force their twisted sense of morality onto us, which is a non-morality. That is constantly done, and there is real resentment.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1340525,00.html

The Sad Part About The Election

No matter who wins, about 35%of the country is going to be seriously cranky about the winner.

I can only hope that there will be record – or at least decent – voter turnout this year.

One thing is for sure… if Bush wins, we will stay the course, the agenda not changing much. If Kerry wins, the tone of his first 100 days, which will certainly include a focus on Iraq, will most surely be less about Iraq than the election campaign has.

It is time for America to move past the navel gazing.

Sorry…

… one of those weekends…